The End Is Near

As of this writing, I’m 92% done with the rough draft for Together Alone. There are only 1.75 chapters left before I can type those words all writers long to write. THE END. Sure, there is still a ton of things left to be done: edits, rewrites, more edits, looking for beta readers, marketing, still more edits, making a pact with a dark lord to get this all done in a timely fashion, working on the cover, more edits. But I’m finally in the homestretch.

The current draft sits at 82,750 words, which is a bit larger than the previous two books in the series. Unless there are some issues with pacing, I think the structure of the story is pretty much what I wanted. Sometimes, as I get toward the end of a draft, I feel like things are out of place or don’t necessarily flow the way I intended. I’ve been pretty happy with this book while going through it in group, though there are certainly several scenes that could use some sprucing up.

If all goes well, I’ll have the rough draft finished by next weekend. I’ve got a good head start in group, so I’ll keep bringing Together Alone each week until we go through the whole book. In the meantime, I’m going to focus my attention on The Shadow Within. It felt good to finish that rough draft as well, but there is still so much left to do: edits, rewrites, more edits, looking for beta readers, marketing, still more edits, asking a dark lord if he’s willing to do a two fer, working on the cover, more edits….

All I know for sure is I’m going to get these two books out this year. If I can help it, they’ll be out in the first few quarters. After that…I don’t know. The third Unseen Things, World of Shadows (Part I) is sketched out thanks to NaNo, but it has a long way to go before I’ll even be willing to call it a rough draft. The fourth Only Human on the Block, The Blood Contract, was nearly complete when I stopped working on it four years ago, but I recall it being really rough. I use the word “recall” because I haven’t been able to find my notebook. I’ve moved since the last time I saw it, so there’s always this fear it got left behind, but I’m holding onto hope it’s hanging out in a box somewhere (with luck, it’s chilling with my rough draft of AdaptNation, a book I started a few years back for NaNo).

So, either of those books might be contenders for what to work on next. And with enough determination on my part, I may even be able to get one of them done before the end of the year. But I came up with an idea for a new book a few days ago, a dark fantasy that won’t let my brain go. I’m going to let it percolate for a time, allow the details to work themselves out, but I’m feeling excited about this one. I’m considering saving it for NaNo, but November seems so far away….